He talks to your cable company; they lower their rates
Kelowna’s Michael Lavigne wants to make you $550 richer. That’s the average amount he can save you annually on your cable, Internet and landline and cellphone bills by negotiating with the providers on your behalf.
“You give me authorization in a three-way call with your provider and then I talk them into giving you a discount,” said Lavigne, who started up Time Brokers earlier this year.
“The average annual savings I negotiate for residential customers is $550 and for businesses, $2,500.”
Lavigne only gets paid if he saves you money.
His fee is one-third of the money you save the first year.
You don’t have to pay a fee for the second or third year, even though you’ll continue to save money.
Lavigne has always been a savvy bargainer and constantly negotiates himself savings on his phone, cable and internet bills because the providers seem to be able to offer discounts in order to keep customers.
Once he started to do it for friends, he saw the possibility for a business.
So, he put his unprofitable Open for Change social enterprise on hold and started Time Brokers.
However, Time Brokers still has a social enterprise element.
Lavigne gives those who refer clients to him 10 per cent of his fee to the new client to the person who referred as a thank you.
If the person who referred wants to donate it to the Central Okanagan Food Bank, Lavigne will match it.
Lavigne plans to build Time Brokers with first-time customers and referrals as well as repeat customers because, after all, providers are always trying to charge more with annual increases and expiring negotiated deals.
Because the company is web-based at TimeBrokers.ca, Lavigne can serve clients anywhere.
New angel
These angels have money and are interested in investing it in promising companies.
Grant Lawrence, a vice-president of sales at Seal Software and an angel himself, is the new president of the Kelowna chapter of VA Angels.
“I’m excited to work closely with the Okanagan angel and entrepreneur community to build upon recent success in marrying experienced local investors with entrepreneurs looking to bring their commercial and social pursuits to market,” he said.
Since 2013, the Kelowna chapter has seen seven companies receive 17 capital injections.
Two of those companies are WTFast, a private network that optimizes Internet connections for online gamers, and Forbidden Spirits, which makes craft vodka from B.C. apples.
The VA Angels network has more than 130 investors in five chapters – Kelowna, Edmonton, Calgary, Medicine Hat and Winnipeg.
Since 2003, angels have invested more than $44 million in more than 150 deals.
If you’re an entrepreneur who’d like to pitch to angels, email grant.lawrence@vaangels.com.
Holmes approved
The 18 townhouses and 100 condominiums at The Granite at McKinley Beach are getting a celebrity injection.
The development, by Kelowna’s Acorn Homes, has secured HGTV star and construction expert Mike Holmes’ Holmes Approved Homes seal of approval.
What that means is homes at Granite will be inspected three times during construction by a Holmes-approved inspector to make sure it meets or exceeds the TV personality’s standards for quality, durability and energy efficiency.
It also means Holmes will be at the Granite ground breaking on Sunday, April 30 from 1 to 2:30 p.m., to meet the public.
“I love how Acorn design their homes,” said Holmes.
“Living in a beautiful place like Kelowna, you want a home that is designed to look as good as it’s built.”
The contemporary Granite townhouse and condo buildings will be perched on the hillside overlooking a kilometre-long beach and Okanagan Lake.
To find McKinley Beach, head north from Kelowna on Glenmore Road, turn at McKinley Road and follow the signs.
Solar cars
There’s an Okanagan connection to a solar car built by college students in India that will be raced across Australia.
RhinoKore Composite Solutions in Armstrong custom-made the honeycomb solar panels used by students at Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering in Bangalore, India to build a solar-powered car.
The students have entered the vehicle in the Oct. 8 to 15, 3,000-kilometre Bridgestone Solar Challenge through the Australian Outback from Darwin in the north to Adelaide in the south.
Cars start the event, which takes about 50 hours, with minimal stored power, which means the vast majority of the energy used to propel the car has to come from the sun and the kinetic energy of the vehicle as it races.
The challenge is open to teams from all over the globe from post-secondary schools and the private sector.
The goal of the 31st annual event is to highlight solar power and advancements in alternatives to the traditional gas-or-diesel-powered car.
East is a beast
Last year, ReMax Kelowna realtor Jesse East sold 59 per cent more homes than the year before.
In recognition for such a huge bump, and glowing online customer service surveys, East has been named one of Canada’s Top 200 Agents by Real Estate Professional magazine.
“We present those who are excelling in the industry with great efforts and valuable insights,” said magazine journalist Clay Jarvis.
“These agents have gone above and beyond for their clients and should be commended.” East is humble in his response. “When you enjoy what you are doing, from sports to charity to working with clients, it’s simple to connect with people,” he said.